Quid Pro Quo
by ClockworkScales
Summary: Agent Clarice Starling has a dream about Hannibal Lecter. She needs to face her fear in order to understand it. ‘Do you know what it’s like to be in the dark, Clarice?’ Total darkness.


**A/N: If you're wondering why this is mostly dialogue and a bit vague and the *s are there... it's to make it seem more dream-like. **

**As for a more in-depth reason as to why I wrote this... I had seen Silence of the Lambs and today I watched Hannibal. I really loved Hannibal and Clarice's conversations because it was obvious they had a little twinge for each other. I didn't want to write a romance story because I thought that... well, I liked it this way. It's open for interpretation. I like their friendship (well, whatever it is, really) and get a thrill writing about them and hearing/watching them communicate. (Even if the actress was changed in Hannibal, you warm up to her.) I plan on reading the books and as I found on Wikipedia (looking for and finding the reason behind Jodie Foster's departure for the film. I read that in the end of the book the two elope together - how obscure, but quite fitting. I'm going to read the books sometime.**

**I wasn't intellectualizing it when I wrote it or when I thought it up. This is short, simple and probably been done before (many times), but I this is how I've done it.**

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'Do you know what it's like to be in the dark, Clarice?'

'I believe I do know, yes.'

'Are you sure? Are you sure, Clarice?'

'I'm…' A pause. 'I'm quite sure, Dr Lecter, sir.'

'No need to call me sir, Clarice, we are equals in this game. A violent riddle needing to be answered…' The taut voice stops and continues. 'You hesitated, Clarice, you hesitated.'

'I did.'

'Why did you hesitate, Clarice?'

'I don't think it's completely necessary for you to call me Clarice.'

'Why? It is your name.'

Silence.

'Tell me why you hesitated.'

'Because… because maybe I don't know what it's like to be in the dark. Not the same dark as yours.'

'That's right… not the same as mine. But, I believe you do know what it's like to be in the dark. Would you like me to tell you? It's when you're alone. You're alone and left to gather your thoughts. These thoughts become rifts and holes and the holes are filled with darkness. Now, have you ever been alone, Clarice?'

'Yes, I have.'

'Why are you alone, Clarice?'

'Because I want to be. Because I can support myself.'

'Wrong. You can't support yourself. You're in constant need of other's help. That's why you're with me, isn't it?'

'I- uh- What does being alone have to do with anything? Everybody is alone.'

'Everybody is alone. But we have each other to support ourselves. Just like you're here with me. We're more alike than you think, Clarice. We fit together like those two birds.'

'Birds?'

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'They were hit with one stone. You see, Clarice, we have a common enemy.'

'I don't believe that's why I'm here.'

'Why are you here, Clarice?'

'I'm here to…'

'That's right. You're here to be taken care of. Let me take care of you Clarice. You know what it's like to be in the dark, you've seen into its eyes, you've heard it. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?'

'I – why, I think I do.'

'Those tears are in your eyes because you know.'

'I do.'

'Tell me about the darkness, Clarice.'

'It's cold. It's wretched. It gnaws and eats at you like rats.'

'Those rats are hungry.'

'Yes. But they like to toy and play with their food.' A moment to collect herself. 'The thoughts, the thoughts are the darkness. It's a state of mind.'

'Yes, and why do we get this state of mind?'

'Because we're weak, _Hannibal_?'

'No.'

A pause.

'Because…'

Dr Lecter interrupts Clarice's train of thought.

'Because we're strong, Clarice. We're strong enough to look at the darkness. To experience it, to bath in its coals, to caress its thigh and feel that....' He stops.

'Y-yes.'

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'Like the lambs, Clarice.'

'We've been over this, Dr Lecter.'

'Again with the Dr Lecter. Please, we are friends, are we not? We understand each other; something very rare in this day and age… Now, Clarice. Tell me about the lambs.'

'I already told you about the lambs.'

'Yes, you told me about the lambs.'

'Which lambs are you referring to?'

'Your darkness, Clarice. They haunt you. You're strong enough to notice this, now we have to overcome it, embrace the darkness. I know you can do it.'

'Why should I embrace it if it does nothing but hurt me.'

'It doesn't have to hurt you, Clarice.'

A pause. A long pause. Breathing.

'Think about the lambs, Clarice. Why were you frightened?'

'Am frightened.'

'My apologies. Why are you frightened?'

'Because they frightened me.'

'Why did they frighten you?'

'They frightened me… because they were scared. They were horrified. They were being… they were scared. They were horrified. They were being mutilated.'

'Are you scared of being mutilated, Clarice?'

'I…'

'Are you afraid of me?'

'No.'

'I am a cannibal, Ms Clarice, you know I could mutilate you.'

'Yes.'

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'Again I ask, why are you scared of the lambs?'

'… because… because they were scared.'

'You're scared of being scared?'

'I'm scared of having no choice.'

'There is always a choice, Ms Clarice.'

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The quiet kneads at the temples, warmth prickles the skin and a chill tickles the spine. Staring into nothing. But hearing the voice. _His_ voice.

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Hannibal Lecter.

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End file.
